Drew Ott often doesn’t give much explanation when answering questions from the media. The Iowa senior defensive end’s responses are usually quick and concise, not leaving much to the imagination.
This was the case on Wednesday’s Big Ten spring football teleconference. A Michigan beat writer asked him a question regarding the Wolverines new quarterback and former Hawkeye Jake Rudock’s decision to leave Iowa upon his graduation in May.
“I thought he had a little more fight in him,” Ott said. “I guess maybe an opportunity arose over there at Michigan; I don’t know too much about it.”
Ott’s comments came regarding the well-documented drama at the Iowa quarterback position that seemingly never went away in the Hawkeyes’ 7-6 2014 campaign.
That situation culminated when head coach Kirk Ferentz gave the starting quarterback job to junior C.J. Beathard after the Hawkeyes suffered a 45-28 shellacking at the hands of Tennessee in the January’s TaxSlayer Bowl, in which Beathard took the majority of the snaps.
Ott’s further comments regarding Rudock were somewhat ambiguous. When asked to describe Rudock’s playing style and what kind of quarterback first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh’s squad will get, the Trumbull, Nebraska, native said the following:
“Really smart football player; he’s going to know the offense,” Ott said. “He’s going to know what to do.”
But is he a leader of the football team?
“I don’t know; you’d have to ask someone else.”
Again, ambiguous.
It’s unclear whether Ott truly doesn’t know if Rudock is a good leader. It’s a possibility — after all, Ott did fumble over a question regarding Iowa’s offense earlier in the teleconference, saying an offensive player would be better off answering the question.
On the other hand, Ott’s comments could have been a shot at his former quarterback. It wouldn’t be far-fetched considering he questioned Rudock’s willingness to play for the Hawkeyes.
Either way, Ott’s words added another chapter in the Rudock novel, which likely won’t go away any time soon.
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